Pokemon Desolation: The Hero's Fantasy
by The Godfeather
Summary: What is your dream? To be the hero that saves the day? What is real and what is fake? These are some of the questions that Richard has to ask himself, as he takes on the Ayrith League alongside his friends. However, he'll have to fight off against several criminal gangs, hell bent on achieving their goals by any means necessary. Rated M for violence, language and lemons
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, I'm here with another story for your enjoyment. Since I've stumbled upon a writer's block for my Rejuvenation fic, I figured that the best solution would be to write about something else. I was browsing the Fan Game Expose section of the Reborn Forums when I stumbled upon the topic for Pokémon Desolation. After downloading it and playing the game for seven hours, it gave me the spark of inspiration I needed for a new fic. I watched a few walkthroughs of the game, right up to the end of the current episode, and I was struck with an amazing idea.**

 **Spoiler warning: There's this on-going theme with the game that the player character is dreaming up the events of the game, and dreaming about being the big hero who saves the region from calamity. I figured that this can be translated into a fic, by the means of a power fantasy. The character will fantasise about being the big hero that saves the day and gets all the girls, in the vein of a dream. It'll explain why the main character will come across as a major Gary Stu. If you don't like the sound of that, then that's perfectly fine.**

 **As you would expect from a fic like this, it will contain some violence, adult language and some lemons.**

 **All credit for Pokémon Desolation goes to its creator, who goes by the username Caz on the Reborn forums.**

 **So without further ado, here's Pokémon Desolation: The Hero's Fantasy**

 _This is the world you created…_

 _You wanted some fun, no? Just another adventure?_

 _You tried to play hero in an unforgiving world. Did you ever consider the consequences of what you did? All that you've done?_

… _I can't understand you. But I must keep on at it, child._

 _Sigh…shall we start from the beginning again?_

 _Tell me your story…one last time. Start from that boat…_

 **A long time ago…**

"Come on! Why won't the damn computer work?!" The frustrated voice of a teenage girl echoed throughout the room, as she thumped the grey computer tower that sat beside the blank monitor.

"Maybe because you keep hitting it?" The voice of a second teenage girl replied to the first one, a lot calmer than her companion.

"Yeah, Ava…" The voice of a teenage male said to the frustrated girl. "Scarlett raises a fair point."

"Hmmm, you two do raise a fair point…" the now named Ava replied to her companions, before she began thumping the tower several times.

"Stop hitting the poor thing!" Scarlett requested. "Keep it up and it'll never work."

"Wait!" Ava hushed her companion, as the computer monitor flickered back to life. "It unfroze! It's working!"

"Well that's a relief…" Scarlett sighed in relief, before turning to face her male companion. "Come on Richard, let's get your trainer card sorted."

"Alright then." Richard smiled at his friend, as he proceeded to crack his knuckles. "Time to start this party!" The monitor screen showed what appeared to be a live feed of a massive city in the background, the night sky illuminated by the lights coming out of the various windows of the tall buildings. The trio were then greeted by a gorgeous young woman with her long pink hair done up in ponytails, with matching pink eyes. She wore what appeared to be a short-sleeved, red button up shirt, a matching red skirt, as well as red gloves and boots that reached the bottom of her knees.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S ROSETTA!" Ava squeed, jumping up and down in ecstasy. "I CAN'T CONTAIN MYSELF!"

"Good evening tourists." The angelic sounding voice of Rosetta spoke through the live feed. "It's a cool night here in Cellia City! Perfect for the upcoming tourists on the cruise! Welcome to the trainer registration program, my name is Rosetta. I'm the Fairy-type Leader and star singer of Cellia City! Cellia City is the capital of the Ayrith Islands. As you know, Ayrith is one of the largest regions in the world and is the host of a stunning culture. I'll be your guide through the registration progress. We hope to give you the nicest possible stay! We have one of the richest battle cultures in the world, but before all that we have to get through some chores. Just follow the prompts on the screen and we can begin."

"Hmmm…seems like I'll be in for quite the adventure." Richard mused to himself, as he began pressing a few buttons on the screen, denying the offer for a refresher course on Pokémon battling and proceeded to the summary of the Ayrith region.

"In the Ayrith region we have a vast host of 16 Gym Leaders you can work towards, with yours truly being one of them!" Rosetta continued, a cheery look on her flawless face. "However, if you don't collect enough Gym Badges here, your Pokémon may respond to you differently as they grow. In Cellia City, we pride ourselves not just by battling, but with a Pokémon Contest Championship! Now let's set up your trainer card; what gender do you identify with?" She asked as a list of buttons appeared on the screen, detailing the various genders people identify with. Richard gazed at the list for a few seconds, before tapping on the 'Male' button.

"Great! Now what is your name?" Rosetta asked, as Richard typed his name on the keyboard, and pressed the Enter key. "Alright then, you're good to go! I look forward to seeing each and every one of you battle me someday. See you soon~!"

"BYE ROSETTA!" Ava cheered, as the monitor proceeded to fade to black. Ava was a very pretty young lady, with her green hair done up into two pigtails on either side of her head, as well as matching green eyes. Her outfit consisted of a green jacket and skirt, with a black long-sleeved undershirt and black pants, topped off by a pair of green boots.

Her friend Scarlett was also quite cute, with short pink hair and pink eyes, both of them being a few shades darker than Rosetta's. Her outfit consisted of a red long-sleeved jacket, a short white dress, and black stockings that were topped off with a pair of pink sneakers. Scarlett also had a headband in her hair that was decorated with a bright red bow.

"So uhh…where's your trainer card?" Ava asked Richard, a baffled look on her face.

"Beats me." The young man replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe the computer froze again."

"Give it a moment, you two." Scarlett told the duo. "These things take a while."

"Hey, I'm the one paying for Richard to get the damn card, so how about you just—"Ava snapped.

"Whoa there, calm down. I don't want you two to start fighting." Richard attempted to defuse the situation, as a beeping came from the computer tower. The trio turned around and saw a thin piece of cardboard pop out from the monitor and landed onto a tray beside it. Richard picked it up and saw that it was his trainer card.

"Oh…well uh, never mind then." Ava said, a little embarrassed over her outburst from before. "Great, money well spent."

"Thanks Ava, you really are an amazing friend!" Richard thanked his companion.

"Now that we've got your trainer card, can we go get some lunch? I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse." Ava requested.

"Ava! You can't—" Scarlett began.

"God! I can't say anything around you, can I?" Ava replied sarcastically, before a smile appeared on her face. "Okay, okay. Let's go get ourselves a CIVILISED meal, huh?"

"Agreed!" Scarlett smiled.

"We'll meet up with you on the deck Richard. That's where they dish up the food." Ava informed her friend, as the two girls exited the cabin. Richard decided to walk to the mirror on the wall and tidy himself up. The young man had spiky yellow hair, with a thick lock of hair covering his right eye, which was a chocolate brown like his left eye. His outfit consisted of a black and red jacket which covered his white undershirt, a red cap that had a black stripe on it, and a pair of jeans that was topped off with a pair of white sneakers. Figuring that he was ready to go, he proceeded to exit the cabin.

The ship's hallway was quite clean, despite the ship's years. There were a few pot plants decorating the hallway, with a Sylveon roaming the hallway and stopping occasionally to sniff the flowers. Richard proceeded to walk down the hallway and upstairs towards the ship deck, eager to try the cuisine being offered on today's menu. However before he reached the deck, he heard what sounded like Ava inside her cabin, shouting at something. He briskly walked to her cabin and entered it, and noticed Ava attempting to calm her Pansage down.

"Oh hey Richard!" Ava smiled, as she managed to subdue her Pokémon. "I was just brushing my hair, but this damn thing keeps popping out of it's Pokéball!"

"Ah, it seems that you've calmed it done already…" Richard noted.

"Yeah, I think it was just hungry." Ava replied. "Why, were you worried about me?"

"Err, yeah." Richard replied sheepishly. "I wouldn't want my friend to get hurt."

"Ahahaha! I appreciate the concern, but you know that I'm invincible." Ava chuckled, as a small smile appeared on her face, appreciated that her friend really cares about her. "Just give me a moment to get myself sorted, I'll meet you and Scarlett outside."

"Alright then, see you soon." Richard replied, exiting the cabin and making his way upstairs to the ship deck. The ship deck was incredibly spacious, with several tables spread out on the surface. The ships guests were chatting amongst each other, as they dug into their meal, which consisted of an omelette with a side of bacon. Richard searched around for Scarlett, and spotted her sitting down at a table close to the front of the ship. The young man walked up to the table and sat down on a chair, as he noticed the occupant of the table next to his. He saw a rather intimidating woman with short red hair and wearing a black dress, talking to a man and a woman in robes, who had blue hair.

"Hey Richard…" Scarlett called out, snapping the young man out of his daze.

"Ah, my apologies! I was distracted by the table next to us." Richard replied.

"It's ok." Scarlett smiled. "By the way, where's Ava?" It seemed that her questioned will be answered, as Ava walked up to the deck, and spotted the duo.

"Sorry I'm late." Ava apologised, as she took the seat next to Richard. "I'm starving, let's get started!" The trio proceeded to dig into the delicious meal, with all three of them enjoying every bite. The creamy goodness of the omelette mixed rather well with the crispy bacon.

"Richard, I'm so looking forward to showing you Cellia city." Scarlett broke the ice. "The lights are bright, the skyscrapers reach beyond the clouds and the city never sleeps! And Rosetta…you'll love her if you get the chance to meet her."

"Yeah, she seems to be quite nice." Richard replied.

"Too bad you'll have to get in line to meet her, cause I'm gonna be the first!" Ava declared. However the trio's conversation was interrupted by the people on the table next to theirs, with the trio listening to the ensuing conversation.

"Ma'am, we came her on strict business to organise a truce with you and your people." The blue-haired man informed the red haired lady.

"We could combine out goals and our organisations! Think of how strong we'll become!" the blue haired lady attempted to bargain.

"Tsk, tsk. I came here on the word of a beneficial proposition. I expected money, or at least anything better than some words." The red haired lady sighed in contempt. "Yet you think you can get away with a pathetic little truce…Hah! Let me make one thing abundantly clear. We have no intention to work with you, ever. The only time we'll interact with you is if you're in our way, and we need to eliminate you."

"How dare you…" the man growled. "You're here to make an agreement with us. You WILL do as we say!"

"Or what, hmm?" the red haired retorted, daring the man to make a move. "I could eviscerate you both if I desire."

"Okay, okay! There's no need for anyone to get mad here. Let's just enjoy the meal we were so generously given." The blue haired lady broke off the fight.

"Hmph!" the man scoffed.

"Sure thing." The red haired lady replied, as they soon began to eat their meal. Ava, Scarlett and Richard turned away from the table and began talking amongst themselves.

"Did you hear any of that?" Ava asked.

"Sounded like some kind of argument…we should keep our distance from them." Scarlett proposed.

"Yeah, especially that red haired lady. She sounds rather menacing." Richard added.

"Hey Richard, mind if you report this to the captain? The last thing I want to happen is for things to escalate." Ava requested.

"Sure thing! Anything for my special friends." Richard smiled.

"Awww….you're so sweet." Scarlett smiled. "We'll be waiting here for now. Don't take too long." The young man left the table and made his way back into the ship, and proceeded to walk up the stairway leading to the captain's quarters. While on the balcony, the young man accidentally bumped into another man, this one a year or two older. He had short, spiky red hair and matching red eyes. He wore a fancy black tuxedo suit and matching black pants, with a bright red tie to compliment the suit. He also wore black business shoes and had a pair of reading glasses on.

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" The man called out in annoyance. "Can't you see I have lowlife criminals to catch?"

"Ah, sorry sir!" Richard apologised. "I was just about to report to the captain about an argument I saw while having breakfast."

"An argument? How interesting…and to think I was about to roast your face off." The man muttered, the last part being especially quiet. "Ugh, just listen closely now that you're involved. There's been reports that members of some criminal gangs have boarded the ship. It's obvious who they are, but without evidence I can't do a damn thing! You can either help me, or be completely useless. Try to find some clues so I can figure out what's exactly happening."

"Alright then, I shall do as you say sir." Richard accepted the task.

"One more thing, keep this between us. The last thing I want is a bunch of idiots panicking." The man said, as he proceeded to walk down the stairway. Richard followed suit and figured that the first place to look were in the residential cabins. The young man walked down the stairs and spotted the red haired lady from before, exiting out of the room closest to the stairs. She soon noticed Richard and glared at him.

"And what do you think you're doing?!" she demanded. "Stay out of my business, you brat!" she pushed him towards the wall before storming up the staircase.

"Ahh…better stay at least 50ft away from her." Richard commented, as he walked towards the room and attempted to open the door. Realising it was locked, he figured that the best thing to do is report it to the man in the suit. Walking back up the stairs, he spotted a pair of doors that led into a large study. The young man entered the room and spotted his client.

"So did you find something?" he demanded.

"Yeah…the red haired lady exited out of the cabin closest to the stairs. I tried opening the door and it was locked." Richard reported.

"Seems like she's trying to hide something." The man in the suit mused. "I doubt you can do anything by yourself, so you must be depending on me to open the door. I guess I'll meet you there, kid." He snarked, as he exited the study.

"Jackass…" Richard muttered under his breath, as he followed suit. Eventually, the duo had arrived at the door.

"Just give me a moment…" the man in the suit said, as he whipped out his lock picking set and attempted to unlock the door. After 30 seconds, the door clicked, indicating that it's been unlocked.

"There we go. You're going first since you're the more expendable of the two of us." The man commented. Resisting the urge to fire a scathing comment, Richard sighed and entered the room. The cabin was fairly small, containing nothing but a few small wooden crates. The young man heard what could be described as a faint beep coming from the back of the room. Walking up to the crate, the young man inspected it and discovered a small package taped to the side of the crate, the beeping coming from a digital timer on the package. It then dawned on Richard, the package was a bomb! He panicked and ran out of the room as fast as possible.

"Huh…you made it out in one piece, unfortunately." The man sighed. "So what did you find?"

"There's a bomb on one of the crates!" Richard whispered, ignoring the man's comment. A look of horror appeared on the older man's face.

"Oh…fuck. I better report this to the captain." He replied, as he took out his walkie talkie from his pocket. "Captain, there's a bomb on board. We need to get everyone off right now!" he proceeded to run up the stairs. Richard followed suit, as the ships staff were gesturing everyone to assemble on the right deck. Eventually he arrived at the destination and reunited with Scarlett, who was visibly shaken.

"Richard…Ava and Connor have confronted the person who planted the bomb." She told him uneasily.

"Connor?" Richard asked.

"He's the Fire Type leader of the region." Scarlett informed him, pointing to the man in the suit who was standing right next to Ava. Richard proceeded to stand by the duo, for some unfathomable reason, as the three people confronted the red haired lady.

"You! What's a person without Pokémon doing right here?! You're only going to get in the way!" Connor called out.

"I don't know what I'm doing here, I just want to help you out." Richard replied.

"I appreciate the concern, but the two of us can handle things just fine." Ava told Richard, as she proceeded to stare down the hostile in front of them. "You better start explaining yourself."

"Explain? Since when do you give the commands?" the red haired lady asked.

"Cut the bullshit! What the hell is going on here, and where are the other two people you were with?!" Ava demanded.

"The other two? I knocked them out and threw them overboard." The woman replied nonchalantly. "They're sleeping with the fishes, and you will join them soon."

"Why are you doing this?!" Ava furiously demanded, her fists clenched tightly.

"Simply put, those fools disappointed me, so I punished them. I'd rather not leave a trace…" the red haired lady coldly replied.

"I have a proposal for you. We beat you in battle and you deactivate the bomb. We won't let anyone know what happened, and you'll walk away without blood on your hands." Connor told the lady.

"Hmm…you know what, you got a deal." She accepted, which slightly unnerved Connor.

"Huh…why'd you accept so quickly?" he asked.

"I have no problem with a battle." The lady replied, as she sent out her Nidoking. Ava and Connor reached for their Pokéballs, but were horrified to discover that they won't work.

"Huh? What's going on?!" Ava demanded.

"Aww…they don't work. What a shame~!" the lady cooed in a sickeningly sweet tone. "I knew that two Gym Leaders would be on the cruise so I came prepared."

"You! Fight us fair and square!" Connor growled.

"Fight? Oh no, no, no. Remember when you said that I'd have no blood on my hands if I let you go? Here's the thing honey, there's a problem with your statement. Why would I want to keep my hands free of blood?"

"You—" Richard began, but was pushed back by Connor.

"Don't say anything that could make things worse." Connor whispered harshly.

"Well it's been fun here, time to set the bomb off~" the woman said, as she pulled out a remote detonator.

"Scarlett, Richard! Get off the ship now!" Ava called out, as Scarlett ran up to Richard and began running away with the young man in tow.

"Time to bathe in all your blood…" the red haired lady sneered, as she pressed the button on the detonator. "The Black Foxes say hello." All of a sudden, a massive explosion rocked the ship, causing bits of debris to fly everywhere. The explosion had separated Richard from Scarlett and had caused him to fly into a wall, knocking him unconscious. What the young man didn't know was that this would be the beginning of a journey that would be unlike any other.

 **So here marks the beginning of my newest fic. The updates won't be as frequent since I'll be juggling between this fic and my Rejuvenation fic. I highly recommend that you try out Pokémon Desolation, it's a lot of fun. Also check out Pokémon Full Moon, since it's a great game as well. I might even write a fic about it in the future.**

 **Thank you for checking out my newest fic.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously, Richard had registered for the Ayrith League, when a bomb exploded on the ship, causing him to be rendered unconscious.**

 **All credit for Pokémon Desolation goes to its creator, who goes by the username Caz on the Reborn forums.**

Chapter 2:

 **Sometime later…**

 _Oh come on…of all the people I had to find in this wreckage. Why can't it have been someone remotely helpful? I would just leave you here, but I might feel just a tiny bit bad about it._

 _*sigh* Get up then…I said, GET UP ALREADY!_

 _*smack*_

 _Richard jolted up from the ground and began rubbing his tender cheek, in order to ease the pain. He looked at his surroundings and was startled at what he saw; somehow he had ended up on a remote island. The thick, tall trees seemed to go on for miles, and it was bucketing down with rain making the usually dry sand extra soggy. He got up and brushed the sand off his pants and tried to see who was it that woke him up, and saw Connor standing by a lone palm tree, with an annoyed look on his face._

 _"Sorry about that, it's just that you were dozing off. Typical casual behaviour…" Connor called out, using his suit jacket to protect his hair from the rain._

 _"What happened?" Richard asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Where are we?"_

 _"Isn't it obvious? We were washed ashore here, after that crazy bitch blew up the ship." Connor replied. "But enough talk, we need to find some cover right now. Luckily for us, there's a small clearing close to our position. Don't pretend that we're friends though, we're only working together because I know that you'd die without me."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. You keep saying that to yourself." Richard muttered under his breath, as the two men proceeded to run into the clearing to seek shelter from the relentless downpour. Once the two men had entered the clearing, they resumed their conversation from before._

 _"Why'd it have to be you I found washed up…?" Connor whined. "Of all the people on the ship, why did it have to be you?"_

 _"I'm not exactly thrilled either, but what other choice do we have?" Richard retorted. "Had it gone my way, I'd be alongside my friends, while you and that crazy lady can get to know each other."_

 _"Your witty banter aside, the last thing I want is to freeze to death." Connor stated. "Let's build a fire; there should be more than enough wood to burn."_

 _"Now you're talking my kind of language. I'll get the firewood, while you build a fire pit." Richard suggested, with the two men going off into different directions to gather supplies. Richard had started combing the forest floor for fallen twigs and leaves, checking to see that they're weren't too wet. After a few minutes, the young man had gathered a sizable bundle and made his way back to the clearing, with Connor adding the finishing touches to the fire pit._

 _"Huh, you actually managed to do the job without me…" Connor said, looking up from his creation. "Not too shabby for a scrub like you."_

 _"Ha-ha, very funny…" Richard replied sarcastically, as he placed the bundle into the fire pit. "Now how are we going to start the fire?"_

 _"Like this." Connor answered, as he unclipped a Pokéball from his belt. "Go Fletchinder, use Ember!" The Ember Pokémon flew onto a branch and launched a small barrage of tiny fireballs at the fire pit, causing to twigs and leaves to be set alight. Connor recalled his Pokémon and sat down beside the fire, with Richard following suit._

 _"There we go." Richard said, stretching his arms behind his back. "Now let's get started, shall we?"_

 _"What I want to know is how things turned out the way they did? How did that woman know that there would be two Gym Leaders aboard?" Connor asked out loud._

 _"I can't say I know the answer, but if I were to guess, I'd say it had to do with those blue-haired people she was talking to before." Richard suggested._

 _"A little off topic, but what were you thinking back there?! Standing aside me and Ava when you have no Pokémon to your name." the Gym Leader exclaimed. "You could have gotten in the way!"_

 _"I didn't want to stand around and do nothing! I wanted to show my friends that I was brave enough to confront adversity!" Richard called out, clenching his fists tightly._

 _"No offense, but you look too wimpy to intimidate anybody." Connor replied bluntly. "Well since we're stuck together, I guess we should introduce ourselves. What's your name kid?"_

 _"…it's Richard, thanks for asking." The young man introduced himself._

 _"As you probably heard on the ship, my name's Connor. I'm the Fire type Gym Leader in this region." The Gym Leader introduced himself. "The Fletchinder you just saw is a part of the new team that I'm training, with my strongest team being back home. I'm quite powerful, if I say so myself."_

 _"Will they be strong enough to keep us safe?" Richard asked, with Connor chuckling at the question._

 _"Of course they're strong enough to keep us safe; I did train them after all!" Connor bragged. "However, they aren't quite ready to deal with an experience like this yet. Luckily for you, I have a rough idea where we are. The clearing's not too far from a town I know."_

 _"That's good to hear." Richard sighed in relief. "Knowing my friends, they most likely found their way to town."_

 _"You came here with friends?" Connor inquired. "I'm amazed you managed to make some. So who are they exactly?" Richard pulled out his wallet from his jacket pocket and took out a small photo that was tucked into one of the wallet pockets. The photo showed Richard, Scarlett and Ava with their arms around each other's shoulders, smiling for the camera._

 _"I'm confident that you're familiar with Ava, given your status as a Gym Leader." Richard pointed to Ava. "Scarlett is the other girl, the one with pink hair."_

 _"Huh, interesting…" Connor mused, handing the photo back to Richard who proceeded to tuck it back into his wallet. "I'm not usually a nice guy, but I'll help you out since you're so weak."_

 _"It's getting rather late…" Richard pointed out, looking up at the moonlight peering through the trees. "We should get some sleep."_

 _"Good idea. I think I've talked to you way more than enough." Connor replied, as he laid down on the forest floor and quickly fell asleep. Richard shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to do the same._

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

 _"Come on Scarlett, run!" Ava called out, the two girls running away from what appeared to be a large horde of people wearing tribal outfits._

 _"I'm not as fast as you! Give me a break!" Scarlett panted, as she struggled to catch up to her friend._

 _"Scarlett, if you don't hurry, they'll catch us! Please!" Ava called out louder than before, the two girls running down the beach and leaping over any small rocks that were in their path._

 _"Can we hide…please? I can't keep running like this…" Scarlett requested, with the two girls hiding beside a tree to catch their breath._

 _"We have to hurry up and move, so we can find Richard and make our way to Cellia City." Ava told her friend. "We have to avoid the thugs that are chasing us."_

 _"There they are! They went this way!" one of the tribesmen pointed to the tree. "After them!"_

 _"Come on Scarlett, run!" Ava cried out, with the two girls sprinting off into the distance, as the tribesmen were hot on their trail._

 _ **The next day…**_

 _Richard had woken up and proceeded to get up off the ground. The sun was shining brightly, with the sunlight getting reflected by the small raindrops on the leaves. The young man spotted Connor brushing the dirt and bits of grass off his suit._

 _"You're finally up…" Connor said._

 _"Yeah, I've always been a bit of a heavy sleeper." Richard replied sheepishly._

 _"Yeah, yeah. Can we move soon? I don't want to be hear all day." Connor requested. "The last thing I want is for the natives to attack us while we're trying to find a way back to civilisation."_

 _"I see…in that case I need to get ready as quick as possible." Richard stated._

 _"I placed a healing machine on the ground near the entrance…" Connor began, pointing to a small metal box which housed a crimson red crystal. "Hopefully you don't get your ass kicked over and over again."_

 _"Thanks for the consideration…" Richard replied, ignoring Connor's witty banter._

 _"By the way, some wreckage of the ship washed up ashore. You might want to scavenge a few items from it." the Gym Leader informed. "I'll go on ahead, since I have no time to explore the wreckage. I'm heading east, and you really should hang out with a strong trainer like me, so don't take too long, scrub." Connor proceeded to leave the clearing, with Richard following closely behind. As Connor began to walk east like he said he would, Richard took his time to comb through the wreckage. There was several unopened boxes lying all around the beach, soaked in sea water alongside sheets of metal that were damaged in the explosion. Richard opened the boxes and took what he could find, or what was left of the cargo. Medicinal items for both people and Pokémon, some empty Pokéballs, and even a few Gourmet Treats that were the latest craze in Ayrith. It was after he had filled his backpack up, that Richard heard the faint chirps of a Pokémon, coming from the ruins of the ship's hull._

 _The young man walked over to the source of the noise, and was surprised at what he saw. Inside the hull were a small group of eight Pokémon; a Sewaddle, Growlithe, Espurr, Flabébé, Pancham, Spheal, Sandile and an Electrike. They all huddled up against each other, frightened out of their mind over what they just experienced. Richard had a gut feeling that their trainers had perished in the explosion, rendering the Pokémon homeless. Though it was against the law to carry more than six Pokémon at a time, there was no way he was leaving the poor things to defend themselves._

 _"Hey there…" he crotched down and offered the Pokémon some Gourmet Treats. "Would you like something to eat?" The Pokémon sniffed the food cautiously, before they proceeded to nibble on the delectable treats. Once they had eaten their fill, the group of Pokémon eyed up Richard before Espurr proceeded to waddle up to Richard and cuddle his leg, with the rest of the Pokémon following suit._

 _"Awww…you're all so adorable." Richard cooed. "How would you like to tag along with me?" He placed eight empty Pokéballs on the ground, with the young Pokémon eyeing them curiously. One by one, they walked up to the Pokéballs and tapped the button, indicating that they would like to travel with Richard. The young man then picked up the Pokéballs and clipped them onto his belt, before leaving the wreckage and began following Connor. A few minutes later, Richard heard the sounds of a battle cry echoing through the jungle. He turned to his side and was surprised when he saw a native tribesman leap out of the woods and aimed his spear at the young man._

 _"Halt outsider! You are not one of us. How did you get here?" the tribesman demanded._

 _"Long story short, I was on a ship to Cellia City and it blew up all of a sudden. I washed ashore here, and intend on finding my way back." Richard told the truth, as the native narrowed his eyes._

 _"The only way you could survive an explosion is if you're a part of that villainous gang! Time to be punished!" The native declared, as he threw a Pokéball and sent out a Poochyena._

 _"I didn't want to fight you, but it seems I have no choice…" Richard replied, selecting a Pokéball on his belt. "Go, Flabébé!" he sent out his Pokémon, with the Single Bloom Pokémon doing a little twirl before locking eyes with its opponent._

 _"Poochyena, use Tackle on the outsider's Pokémon!" the native called out. The Poochyena let out a few quick barks and proceeded to charge at the Flabébé._

 _"Counter that with Fairy Wind!" Richard retorted. The Flabébé chirped as it summoned a small gust of sparkly wind and hurled it at the incoming Poochyena. The Bite Pokémon yelped in pain as it was struck by the wind that was charged up with fairy magic. However it stood strong and continued the attack, colliding into Flabébé and causing it to cry out in pain._

 _"Quickly, use Vine Whip!" the young man blurted. The Single Bloom Pokémon summoned a pair of vines from the red flower it was resting on and ensnared the Poochyena. The Bite Pokémon began to panic, as it struggled in vain to escape the vines clutches. Flabébé then lifted the Poochyena into the air and flung it down on the ground, the impact knocking it out._

 _"Alright, we won our first battle!" Richard cheered, with Flabébé smiling in response, as the startled tribesman recalled his fainted Pokémon._

 _"You…you may have defeated me, but I'm not the only warrior in my tribe. My brethren shall strike you down when you least expect it, all in the name of our lord Kuiki." The defeated native warned, as he retreated back into the jungle. Richard stared at the retreating figure and shrugged his shoulders, as he recalled his Flabébé and continued the trek east. The young man was a little slower than he wanted to, being careful not to run into more of the hostile tribesman but after a few minutes of tedious walking, he spotted Connor standing by the entrance to the jungle._

 _"Hmph, you sure took your sweet time Richard." Connor pointed out, crossing his arms in what could only be described as expected disappointment._

 _"Well I bumped into one of the locals, and defeated him in battle. Unfortunately, he's gone to warn the rest of his tribe." Richard explained, as Connor silently cursed to himself._

 _"Brilliant, just brilliant…" Connor complained. "Now our journey's going to be that extra bit more annoying. At least I can train up my team though, so it's not all bad. Still though, if you managed to defeat that guy, then perhaps I don't have to carry you the whole way."_

 _"Thanks for the encouragement…" Richard replied, his sarcastic tone falling on deaf ears._

 _"You're welcome, scrub." Connor said, a small smirk on his face. "I'm 100% confident that this clearing leads into Keneph Jungle, which is where all these crazies live. I've heard tales about travellers getting lost in the depths, only to get capture by the locals. Guess we have no choice but to go through here, unless you want to swim all the way to Cellia City." The two young men then proceeded to enter the jungle, unaware of the dangers lurking within._

 _The jungle was a lot thicker than the exterior lead the duo to believe. The grass reached their knees and was still moist from last night's downpour, and was teeming with Bug and Grass type Pokémon. Additionally, there were also some Pokémon nests high up in the trees that made up the jungle. The two men walked through the grass for a while, until they stumbled upon a landslide that blocked the path to town._

 _"Great…looks like we have to go the long way." Connor spat out bitterly. "Looks like we're gonna take the long way to town."_

 _"We could attempt to climb through the debris." Richard suggested, with Connor facepalming at the suggestion._

 _"All that's going to accomplish is making us easy targets for the crazies roaming the forest." The Gym Leader retorted, as he turned to the side and spotted what appeared to be a path blocked off by a small tree. "I think I found a way to get us out of here." The pair walked up to the path and inspected the tree._

 _"I'd stand back if I were you, unless you want your face fried off. I mean, I can't imagine it looking any worse than it already does." Connor quipped, sending out his Fletchinder again. Richard grumbled to himself and stepped a few feet back, as Connor ordered his Fletchinder to burn down the tree with Ember. The Ember Pokémon fired a small barrage of tiny fire balls from it's beak and set the tree alight. The tree was reduced to ashes within a few seconds, with Connor pouring some water over the fire to put it out._

 _"Well that's a wrap." The Gym Leader commented, recalling his Pokémon and reaching in his bag for another healing machine before proceeding to place it on the ground and turn it on. "I've put this here in the inevitability you get your ass kicked. Try not to get lost…" Connor informed Richard and began to walk down the newly formed path._

 _"I can't take any more of this…" Richard groaned to himself, as he briskly walked down the path. He had made some considerable progress, when another native jumped out from the tree line and locked eyes with the young man._

 _"You will pay for trespassing our land! Praise Chief Kuiki!" the tribesman declared, sending out a Bidoof._

 _"In that case, I choose you Pancham!" Richard called out, sending his recently acquired Pancham into battle. The Playful Pokémon looked at it's opponent and snickered to itself._

 _"Bidoof, use Tackle to teach the trespasser how powerful Chief Kuiki is!" the native called out. The Plump Mouse Pokémon proceeded to charge at Pancham as fast as it's stubby little legs can carry it, with the Playful Pokémon bracing for impact._

 _"Not on our watch, use Arm Thrust, Pancham!" Richard called out. The Bidoof hopped into the air and was about to crash into Pancham, when the Playful Pokémon retaliated by launching a barrage of powerful punches at its opponent, causing the Bidoof to cry out in pain as it was sent flying back to its trainer and got knocked out._

 _"Alright!" the young man cheered, as he recalled his Pancham. "How's that?"_

 _"Gah! You will pay for your insolence!" the native snapped, recalling his fainted Pokémon and darting back into the trees._

 _"And now to catch up to Connor. Hooray…" Richard sighed, as he continued down the small path. The young man continued walking on his own, until he spotted Connor gazing at a rather large flower that was blocking the path. Richard checked his surroundings and noticed that they were right by the pile of debris that had blocked off the path._

 _"There you are." Connor called out as he spotted Richard. "As you can see, our path is blocked off by a sleeping Vileplume."_

 _"Can't you use your Fletchinder to get it out of the way?" Richard inquired._

 _"I tried that, but the Vileplume shrugged off the attack like it was nothing. It's like someone trained it to resist Fire type attacks, and ordered it to block the path." Connor replied. "Luckily for us, I have a possible solution to our dilemma."_

 _"Really?" the young man asked._

 _"Listen to this; in another region, Vileplume also sleep in the ground like this. The residents dealt with the issue by concocting a tropical powder that was native to the region, a little thing known as Spice Powder." The Gym Leader explained. "The Spice Powder would wake up the Vileplume, forcing them to move to a different location I have reason to believe that the villagers here use the same method to deal with the Vileplume."_

 _"Now that sounds like a clever plan." Richard commented, as a smirk grew on Connor's face._

 _"Naturally, I did come up with it after all." Connor smirked. "Though I have to wonder why it's here of all places. Did someone order it to sleep here, or is it just to annoy you? I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter."_

 _"Yeah, yeah. Let's just find someone who can help us out." The young man replied, not in the mood for any more of Connor's sass._

 _"There's a hut near our location, I spotted it while you were goofing off behind me. Let's check it out." The Gym Leader suggested, with the two men walking down the short gravel path and into the hut. They entered the hut and spotted a woman with short black hair and was wearing a tanned hide dress, sitting down on a crudely constructed chair. The woman turned to face the men and was less than pleased that they entered her home._

 _"Who are you two?!" she demanded, picking up a spear off the table and pointing it at the pair. "Get out of my home right now!"_

 _"We-We're sorry miss, we didn't mean to intrude on your property." Richard bowed and apologised, with Connor scoffing to himself._

 _"Lady, you might be the only person on this island who's more annoying than Richard over here." The Gym Leader retorted, further infuriating the woman._

 _"Shut up you foul intruder! Get out of my house, now!" she snapped, getting ready to impale the men on her spear._

 _"We don't want to rob you! All we want to do is get past that Vileplume blocking the path." Richard explained the situation._

 _"Oh…is that all you wanted?" the woman asked, as she placed her spear back on the table. "Well why didn't you just say so?"_

 _"You have got to be kidding me…" Connor grumbled._

 _"I'm sorry for my behaviour beforehand, I've just had too many encounters with those thugs to trust random strangers." The woman apologised._

 _"No we should be the ones apologising, since we did barge into your home uninvited." Richard apologised._

 _"And what do you mean, when you say thugs?" Connor inquired._

 _"Well…I'm forbidden to speak about it." the woman replied uneasily._

 _"Forbidden? Why would you be forbidden to mention the thugs that have been harassing you?" Richard asked._

 _"It's a long story…" The woman answered, her refusal to answer the question only piquing intrigue in the young man's mind. "The name's Lyra, I'm the village's gatekeeper." She introduced herself._

 _"I'm Richard, and the fellow with me is Connor." The young man introduced himself, as Connor inspected the interior of the hut._

 _"This place looks like absolute crap. Why would you accept the job?" the Gym Leader asked._

 _"I didn't accept the job…I was sentenced to be the gatekeeper, by Chief Kuiki." Lyra admitted._

 _"Hold the phone, you were sentenced here." Richard exclaimed. "Why on earth would the chief do that?"_

 _"My husband was declared a traitor by Chief Kuiki himself. He was locked away somewhere and I was sentenced to this outside post." Lyra explained._

 _"So you're telling me that the_ _'lovely'_ _chief of yours sentenced you here." Connor inquired, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "What did you do exactly to warrant this punishment?"_

 _"My husband dishonoured the family…this was the best I could get." The lady replied._

 _"Why would he be a traitor? All of the nutters I passed love this Chief guy." Connor pointed out._

 _"Yeah, the villagers I encountered seemed to praise the guy." Richard added._

 _"Chief Kuiki is a great man. I don't know why my husband was sentenced, but I must trust Kuiki's judgement." Lyra answered._

 _"So you're telling me that your husband was mad a villain for no reason, and you're cool with that?" Connor summarised the conversation. "I don't like this at all. Looks like I'm gonna have to get my hands dirty again. I think I might check out this little party of yours."_

 _"Why…for what purpose?" Lyra inquired._

 _"Not only do we need the powder to deal with the Vileplume, but I wanna have a chat with the chief about this whole situation." Connor explained, as he brushed past Lyra and exited the hut through the other door._

 _"I am so sorry for his rudeness, miss." Richard apologised on Connor's behalf._

 _"It's fine…though if you're going to see our chief, I have a request for you." Lyra said._

 _"Hmmm, and what is it you need?" the young man asked._

 _"I would like to see if my house is alright. I hope that won't be much trouble." She requested. "There's a sign out front that has the name of me and my husband on it, so it shouldn't be too hard to find._

 _"I have no problem with that." Richard replied._

 _"Oh thank you young man." Lyra thanked Richard. "Your friend seems suspicious of Chief Kuiki, but I assure you he's a great man." The young man then proceeded to leave the building, and caught up with Connor who was inspecting what looked like a cave entrance that has some markings written above the top._

 _"Well this must be the entrance to the village. Come on then, we going to get to the bottom of this whole thing with Lyra's husband and the chief." Connor stated, as the two men entered the cave and into the village._

 _ **I think here's a good point to wrap up this chapter. The next instalment shall focus on exploring the village and finding out the truth about Lyra's husband, as well as rescuing Richard's friends. As for pairings, I'm undecided on whether Richard should be paired up with either Scarlett or Aurora. I'll come to a decision later in the story.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously, Richard and Connor were washed ashore following the explosion on the ship. They then discover the suspicious circumstances surrounding Lyra's husband and the chief of the native populace, leaving the two men to discover the truth.**

 **All credit for Pokémon Desolation goes to its creator, who goes by the username Caz on the Reborn forums.**

Chapter 3:

 **Underground Village**

The village was a true sight to behold; there were dozens of huts scattered all over the place with wooden signs that indicated who lived in the huts. There were also half a dozen bigger huts that acted as the important cornerstones of any society, such as a library, a hospital, and even a market for villagers to barter goods with each other. However the underground cave was very dark, with the only source of light coming from several torches that were sticking out of the rock surface. Richard walked up to Connor, who was scoping out the village.

"Richard…I didn't anticipate it to be so dark…Uh…how about we team up together? That way I can keep you company, since you seem like you're afraid of the dark." Conner offered, a few tiny beads of sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Uhh, sure. I have no problem with that." The young man replied. Someone was afraid of the dark, and it certainly wasn't Richard, but he didn't want to push the issue. "Why don't we check out the library first? There's bound to be some information on where we can pick up some Spice Powder."

"I was just about to suggest that, scrub." Connor added. "Let's go." The two young men began their journey in the dark cave, occasionally looking back to see if any suspicious villagers have begun tailing them. Eventually they arrived at the library and entered the larger than average hut. All the library consisted of was a large bookshelf with several dozen short novels, a couple of small tables and chairs, and a bed for the librarian. The librarian turned to the strangers and got up off the chair.

"How can I help you, young gentleman?" she greeted the duo.

"I'm actually surprised that you people actually read books…" Connor snarked, annoying the librarian.

"I'll pretend I didn't just hear that, for your benefit…" she gritted through her teeth.

"My apologies on his behalf miss, we just want to know the origins of this village." Richard requested.

"As you wish, young man." The woman began, as she sat back down on the chair. "When Kuiki was a young boy, he woke up on the shore nearby, alone and afraid. He ran into the jungle to seek shelter, and stumbled upon this very cave. He was in the midst of building his shelter, when another man washed up on the same shore, and had his life saved by Kuiki. It was then that Kuiki realised that he could create a sanctuary here, instead of rejoining society. As more and more people got lost, the sanctuary grew bigger and bigger, until it became this very village we're all standing in right now."

"Hmmm, how fascinating. Seems like this Kuiki fellow's a nice person. Which makes the banishment of Lyra and her husband quite odd." Richard mused to himself.

*yawn* "Well that was boring, how'd you learn all that?" Connor yawned, bored out of his mind.

"Why from Kuiki's journal of course." The woman replied, gradually losing her patience with the Gym Leader.

"Mind if we take a look miss?" Richard asked.

"That's the thing…I don't have it in my possession anymore." The librarian admitted.

"Let me guess, your _oh so wonderful_ chief doesn't allow people to see it anymore." Connor guessed.

"Yes…ever since Lyra's husband betrayed us, Kuiki tries not to reveal his past anyone, so he took the journal back." She explained.

"I'm really curious as to how and why Lyra's husband betrayed you all." Richard mused to himself once more. "Thank you for explaining the village's origin to us."

"You're welcome. May Kuiki's light guide you through your journey." The librarian farewelled the two men, as they exited the library and continued exploring the village. All around the place, they saw villagers offering gifts of food to statues of what they assumed was Chief Kuiki, with one woman in particular performing a ceremonial dance in an attempt to please their chief.

"I tell you what, that lady's acting just as weird as you Richard. It's giving me the chills." Connor commented.

"Yeah, yeah. I heard this song and dance before." Richard retorted, as the duo walked into another house, and introduced themselves to the resident.

"Visitors? This is a rare occurrence…" the lady commented.

"Yeah, our ship crashed ashore lady. Have you seen anyone else come by here?" Connor inquired.

"No I haven't young man." She replied, as Richard was struck by a sudden bout of misery. If the lady hadn't seen his friends, then did they even arrive at the village? What if they're trapped in the jungle somewhere? What if they washed up on another island? What if they—

"Hey scrub, snap out of it!" Connor ordered, smacking Richard upside his head. "She hasn't finished speaking yet."

"As I was saying, I recently washed ashore here, and ever since that day, I felt…different." The lady continued, intriguing the young men.

"Different?" Richard inquired.

"Chief Kuiki really is something else. I feel as though he gave me a purpose, but it feels like my body chose to stay for me." The lady continued, as the men started to get confused.

"This is some crazy shit I'm hearing…" Connor muttered under his breath.

"Normally I wouldn't have stayed, but I felt so persuaded to. Nevertheless, Chief Kuiki is my role model, and I wish I was as strong as him."

"Alright, I think it's about time we hightailed it out of here, since you're all long gone." Connor told her, dragging Richard out of the hut and through the village once more.

"What did she mean when she mentioned how she was persuaded to stay here?" Richard inquired.

"Beats me." Connor replied bluntly. "Now let's get out of here, the last thing I want to happen is to start acting like these folk."

"Hey Connor, have you noticed something odd? Like how almost all the women are underground, while most of the men are outside the village fighting off intruders?" Richard inquired.

"Yeah, I noticed that as well. I don't like it one bit." The Gym Leader replied. "Maybe we should ask one of the villagers." It was at this point that the duo had noticed a male villager sitting on a rock by his lonesome.

"Hey mister, why is it that almost all of the ladies are underground?" Connor asked.

"Oh that, it's just that men are simply stronger of course! Chief Kuiki taught that to all of us." The villager replied.

"That's not a very nice thing the chief taught you." Richard commented. "Some of my best friends are female, and they're very strong."

"I'm just preaching what the chief taught us, that's all." The villager shrugged his shoulders.

"Hahahahahahaha! If my sister heard what you just said, she'll destroy you." Connor snickered. "Your chief must be pretty weak if he's spouting such rubbish."

"You insolent brats! How dare you question the wise words of Kuiki!" the villager snapped, causing the duo to gulp and run away as fast as their legs could carry them. A few minutes later, the two men stopped to catch their breath, looking back to make sure the angry villager wasn't chasing them.

*pant* "I think we lost him…" Richard gasped for air.

"Good…I don't want to do that anytime soon." Connor panted, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Let's check up on the facts; what do we know about Kuiki so far?"

"Well for one thing he must be ashamed of his past, if he's willing to hide it so fervently." Richard recalled. "That and his views on women are a bit old-fashioned."

"Yeah this Kuiki doesn't sound like a cool guy at all; we haven't even seen him, if you ignore all the statues of his likeness." Connor replied. "These people have lost it anyway. Kuiki must have done something to make them worship him. Propaganda? Hypnosis? Brainwashing? Perhaps it has something to do with Lyra's husband?"

"With the hypnosis theory, do you think that he used a Psychic type Pokémon to hypnotise the people here?" Richard hypothesised.

"Seems like the most logical option." Connor replied. "Now come on, we don't have all the time in the world to goof off." The two men continued walking through the cave, with Connor sticking closely to Richard. They soon met up with another villager, this one carrying a basket full of roots, nuts and berries.

"Ooooooh, visitors! What a lovely surprise. You should have seen the last visitors to come by here." The lady smiled. "There were two girls; one of them had bright green hair, while the other had bright pink hair."

"Where did they go?!" Richard blurted, gripping the woman's shoulders. "Please tell me, I need to know now!"

"Why, are they your friends young man?" he asked, a little unsettled by Richard's sudden outburst.

"Yeah, those two are this dweeb's friends." Connor answered, referring to the young man on edge.

"Ooooooh that's not good at all…" the woman replied sadly.

"Wait, what's going on?" Connor asked.

"They were grabbed as soon as they entered the village. Kuiki's most likely going to put them in the ring." She answered.

"What ring…?" Richard asked.

"It's his own personal version of gladiator. Kuiki's a bloodthirsty man at times; his Donphan against two little people." She smiled innocently, as a horrific realisation dawned on Richard. His friends were going to be put to death by some psychopathic chieftain. The young man got on his knees and let out an anguished scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He cried out, clutching his head with his hands. Though Connor couldn't care less about Richard even if he tried, even he felt a small twinge of sympathy for the young man.

"You're all off your faces you know that?! This is absolutely insane!" Connor snapped at the woman.

"Huh? What's wrong with it?" She asked, not knowing the severity of the situation.

"What's wrong with it…?" Richard began, as he got up and stared daggers at the villager. "HOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOUR BATSHIT CRAZY CHIEF IS SENDING MY FRIENDS TO DEATH, JUST BECAUSE THEY WANDERED IN HERE?!" he ranted.

"This is screwed up, even I have my limits." Conner supported Richard's argument.

"Your friends must have done something terribly wrong to earn the ultimate punishment from Kuiki." The lady hypothesised.

"I don't know what crime is punishable by getting gored to death by a Donphan here, but whatever." Connor said, brushing his hair aside. "Which reminds me, does Kuiki have a Psychic type Pokémon?"

"I…I know he has a Pokémon beside him, but all that I can remember is that it's coloured brown and yellow." The villager answered. "Anyway, I have to go home. See you." The two young men watched the woman walk off, as Richard began to have another panic attack.

"OH GODS! WHAT HAPPENED IF THE PUNISHMENT BEGAN ALREADY?! WHAT HAPPENS IF THEY ALREADY GOT KILLED?! WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE KUIKI DID TO THEM?!" he began crying out loud as a few tears fell down his cheeks, leaving Connor no choice but to slap the young man on the cheek.

"Calm down you scrub. We're going to get to the bottom of this crazy shit, but I can't have up panicking like a headless Torchic. We go confront chief Kuiki, kick his ass and free your friends." Connor spoke some sense into the young man, who sniffled in response.

"Thanks man…" Richard replied weakly, wiping his tears away. "You're a real pal you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's get moving." The Gym Leader said, as the two men continued their journey through the village. A few minutes later, the duo had spotted an unattended hut standing on a small ridge. The sign right by the entrance stated that the housed belonged to Lyra, with her husband's name crossed out and replaced with 'traitor'.

"Well we found Lyra's house…maybe I should take the lead from here, don't want you to hurt yourself in pro territory." Connor suggested.

"Yeah alright, but don't take too long." Richard replied, not in the mood to waste time. The duo entered the hut and noticed an open journal lying out in the open.

"Hey look…a journal, let's check it out." Conner suggested. The two men sat down on the table and began reading the journal, hoping to find some answers to the rabbit hole they found themselves in.

 _Week 1:_

 _Lyra and I fell off the ship. We thought we were doomed. But Kuiki saved us, and from what I've heard, he's saved everyone here. If he didn't find me, I'd be stranded, maybe even dead. All we need to do is our daily share of work. I wouldn't mind living like this. It really is great, I feel like my eyes have been opened._

 _Week 2:_

 _Something seems a little weird. Now that I really look into it, everyone here is so robotic. Like, I respect Kuiki for everything he's done, but the people here seem to worship him._

 _Week 3:_

 _Something is really wrong here, as soon as I started looking into the history of this place, everyone started giving me weird stares. I don't feel safe here, these people aren't how I remembered them. Is Chief Kuiki really as heroic as I first believed?_

 _Week 4:_

 _Something here is wrong, are they brainwashed? Bribed? Forced into silence? It's almost as if everyone here shares his eyes. But no, not me or Lyra. I'm leaving, I have to get out of here no matter what. Dear reader, if you find this message, know that the truth behind the Keneph Village is not as you see, even Kuiki—_

The rest of the diary was soaked in what appeared to be blood, making it illegible. The two men looked at each other, unsure what to say.

"Wow…this Kuiki fellow must have brainwashed the villagers here. But what did the author mean at the end, when he wrote about 'even Kuiki'?" Connor asked.

"Maybe Kuiki's hiding something that he wants nobody to know. Could it have to do with why Lyra and her husband were labelled traitors?" Richard asked as well.

"Whatever the case, we got to get to the bottom of this." The Gym Leader told the young man, with the two men leaving Lyra's house and continuing their trek to the chief's residence. The duo were dismayed to find their path blocked off by a closed wooden fence. What didn't help the fact was that the switch was on the opposite side of the fence to them.

"Argh, what do we do now? That fence is far too high for us to climb, and all breaking it would do is attract unwanted attention." Richard commented, as he collapsed to his knees. "And we were so close as well…"

"Is something the matter here?" A mysterious voice called out from behind the duo. They turned around and saw a man in his early twenties, with short black hair and black eyes. He wore a black overcoat with fur trimmings, a red long-sleeved shirt and brown cargo pants. On his right shoulder rested an Aipom with a curious look on it's face.

"What the…who are you and how'd you get down here?!" Connor exclaimed.

"That's not important right now Connor, I'm asking what's upset young Richard right here?" the older man asked, startling the new trainer.

"How do you know my name?!" Richard inquired. "I've never met you before!"

"I know many things~" the man smirked. "The name's Shiv, and I take it that you've got some issues with the chief here."

"Yeah…Chief Kuiki's going to put my friends to death. They did nothing wrong sir!" Richard replied, his mind feeling slightly uneasy around this strange man.

"Heh, you smell like a scrub, but you're nothing like the crazies who live in this dump. I can take you on any day of the week." Connor bragged, crossing his arms. Shiv simply locked eyes with Connor, before slowly walking up to him.

"If I'm a scrub, then you're a noob, if that's the correct term." Shiv smirked. "I've won several Pokémon Leagues, for one thing."

"Really?! That's amazing!" Richard gushed. "I never expected to see an official Pokémon League Champion."

"To be honest, I'm not here to prattle. At least not with Mr. Scrublord over here." Shiv replied, pointing to Connor.

"You can't just call me a Scrublord, you prick!" Connor snapped, glaring daggers at the older man, as the latter's Aipom poked it's tongue out at the Gym Leader, causing him to growl.

"Now then Richard, there's something about you that I find rather curious. Perhaps we should have a little battle to see if my gut feeling is true." Shiv proposed.

"We don't have time to battle! My friends—"Richard began.

"Aren't dead yet; the punishments not for another half-an-hour." The older man interrupted. "That should give us plenty of time to have a quick 3-on-3 battle."

"Well…if you say so…" Richard replied uneasily, as he unclips a Pokéball from his belt and sends out his Espurr, who mews quietly at it's soon to be opponent. Richard was scared out of his wits, who knows what powerful Pokémon Shiv has on him.

"Whatever, I'll let you two scrubs fight each other…" Connor called out, as he walked away from the two men and sat down by Lyra's hut.

"Well then, let's get started! I'll start off with my trusty Aipom." Shiv declared, as his Aipom hopped off his shoulder and locked eyes with Espurr, who just mewed at it.

"Alright, Espurr, use Confusion!" Richard called out.

"Fake Out, Aipom." Shiv told his Pokémon. The Long Tail Pokémon ran up towards Espurr, while the latter was charging up it's mental energy. The Aipom then proceeded to clap right in front of Espurr, breaking it's concentration, before slapping it with it's tail. The Espurr cried out as it was pushed a few feet back from the attack.

"Ah! Espurr!" Richard called out. "Are you alright?" The Espurr replied with a few short mews, indicating that it could still battle. "In that case, why don't we try Confusion one more time?"

The Espurr nodded and began concentrating it's mental powers again, as Aipom was soon surrounded by a blue aura. The monkey begun panicking and attempted to break free from Espurr's mental grip, but to no avail and was flung back into a nearby rock, causing it to cry out in pain.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Shiv commented. "But I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeve. Aipom, use Swift!" The Long Tail Pokémon leaped up into the air and summoned a wave of golden stars at the Espurr.

"Espurr, use Light Screen!" Richard responded to the attack. The Espurr created a wondrous wall of light that surrounded the small Pokémon and blocked off a lot of the incoming stars, though a few of them struck the Espurr, causing it to be pushed a few feet back.

"Hmmm…seems like I need to get serious. Espurr, use Psybeam!" the young man called out. The small Pokémon fired a beam of telekinetic energy at the Long Tail Pokémon, causing it to cry out in pain as it was flung backwards into another rock, and was knocked out from the attack.

"Taking out my Aipom is a rather impressive feat…" Shiv began, recalling his fainted Pokémon. "But let's see how well you do against my Roselia." He sent out his next Pokémon, with Roselia materialising from its ball and doing a little twirl.

"Espurr, use Psybeam again!" Richard called out. The Espurr charged up another beam of telekinetic energy and fired it at the enemy.

"Dodge and use Magical Leaf!" Shiv retorted. The Roselia twirled around to dodge the incoming beam and retaliated by summoning a series of multi-coloured leaves from it's roses and aimed them at Espurr. The small Pokémon cried out in pain as it was pelted by the barrage of leaves, and was knocked out from the attack.

"You did your best Espurr…return." Richard recalled his Pokémon, and hastily picked his next Pokémon. "It's your time to shine Growlithe!" the young man sent out his next Pokémon, with the Growlithe barking playfully at Roselia and proceeded to sit on its hind legs.

"Now Growlithe, use Odor Sleuth!" Richard asked. The Puppy Pokémon began sniffing the air around the Roselia and picked up it's scent. This provided a few benefits, as it enabled a Pokémon to hit even the most evasive foes.

"Two can play at the defensive game. Roselia, use Growth!" the older man called out. The roses on the Thorn Pokémon's hand were raised into the air and absorbed what little sunlight shone through the cave roof, boosting the Roselia's offensive stats.

"Alright Growlithe, use Ember on Roselia!" Richard called out, with the Puppy Pokémon firing a small stream of fireballs from it's mouth.

"Counter with Magical Leaf!" Shiv retorted, with Roselia launching a barrage of multi-coloured leaves from it's roses. The two attacks collided in mid-air and attempted to overpower the other. After a while, Growlithe eventually overpowered the Roselia's attack and struck the Thorn Pokémon, causing it to cry out in pain as it was burnt by the attack.

"That's it Growlithe, finish it off with Bite!" Richard cheered on. The Puppy Pokémon let out a few quick barks as it ran towards it's opponent and bit into it's body. The Roselia grimaced in pain as it planted a seed onto Growlithe's back before subsequently fainting. The Growlithe released the fainted Pokémon from it's grip and waddled back to it's trainer.

"Now that's a goody boy!" Richard cooed, as he began petting the Growlithe who barked happily in response.

"Seems like I have no choice left…" Shiv muttered under his breath, recalling his fainted Roselia and reaching for another Pokéball. "Alright Gible, time to show the new guy how we deal with things around here!" the older man summoned his last Pokémon, with the Land Shark Pokémon hopping on the spot and letting out small chirps. It was then that the seed on Growlithe's back sprouted several vines that wrapped themselves around Growlithe's body and began draining the Pokemon's energy, causing it to howl in pain.

"B-but how?!" Richard cried out.

"My Roselia managed to land a Leech Seed on your Pokémon before getting knocked out. That should weaken it enough for me to deal with your pup easily." Shiv smirked. "Gible, use Dragon Rage to send your opponent packing!" The Land Shark Pokémon opened it's mouth and fired a large blue ball of draconic energy at the weakened Growlithe. The attack collided into the Puppy Pokémon and exploded, causing the Growlithe to howl in pain before getting sent flying back and was knocked out from the attack.

"Thanks Growlithe, return…" Richard called out sadly, recalling his fainted Pokémon. Things were not looking good for him; he was down to his third Pokémon, and he knew that Dragon Rage was especially powerful against weaker Pokémon. He was scared about losing the battle and losing the only chance to rescue his friends. The young man was at a loss for words, until an idea popped into his mind.

Did he have anything that was immune to Dragon Rage?

He checked his Pokémon and placed his hand above Flabébé's Pokéball. He knew that most Dragon type Pokémon would be taught a move to counter Fairy Type, but this Gible looked fairly young. Was Shiv training up a new team like Connor? Whatever the case, Richard had to go with his gut feeling.

"Go Flabébé!" he called out, sending out his trusted Fairy type Pokémon. The Single Bloom Pokémon emerged from it's Pokéball and let out a cheery smile before locking eyes with Gible, who now had a nervous look on it's face.

"Dragon Rage may be out of the question, but that doesn't mean it's all over." Shiv mused to himself. "Alright Gible, use Sand Attack!" the Land Shark Pokémon turned around and began flinging sand towards Flabébé in an attempt to lower it's accuracy. It was then that a small smile appeared on Richard's face, for he had a perfect counter to Shiv's strategy.

"Use Fairy Wind to blow the sand back!" the young man retaliated. The Flabebe summoned a small gust of sparkly wind and blew it at the incoming sand, causing it to be blown back and fly into Gible's face. The Land Shark Pokémon had just begun brushing the sand off of it's face when it was hit hard by the Fairy Wind, causing the young Pokémon to be sent flying a few feet back. The Gible got back up on it's feet and glared at the Flabébé.

"Not even that strategy worked." Shiv commented, raising a hand to his chin. "Alright Gible, use Tackle on Flabébé!" the Gible kicked the ground a few times before charging at the Small Bloom Pokémon, a determined look in its eyes.

"When the Gible gets close, I'd like you to use Vine Whip." Richard whispered into Flabébé's ear. The Small Bloom Pokémon waited for a while, with the Gible coming closer and closer. When the Land Shark Pokémon was just a few feet away, Flabébé called forth a pair of vines to ensnare it's opponent and raise it into the air. The Gible twisted and turned in a vain attempt to break free from the vines, only for the Flabébé to slam the Land Shark Pokémon into the ground causing a lot of dust to be kicked up into the air. When the dust settled, it showed that the Gible was knocked out.

"We did it…we did it!" the young man cheered, as he hugged his Flabébé who chirped happily in response.

"Bravo. Bravo indeed…" Shiv complimented the young man, recalling his fainted Pokémon. "It seems like I was right about you. As a reward, I shall unlock the gate for you. Good luck with Kuiki…"

"Huh, seems like the battle's—"Connor began as he sauntered up to the duo, when Shiv disappeared all of a sudden and reappeared behind the wooden fence. The older man smiled and flipped the switch, opening the wooden gate before he disappeared again. The two young men were flabbergasted at what they just witnessed.

"He vanished?!" Connor spluttered. "Just what is going on in this crazy place?!"

"I don't know, but I don't care at the moment. Let's go confront that creep Kuiki and rescue my friends!" Richard replied, as he bolted through the open gate.

"H-Hey! Wait up scrub!" Connor called out as he began running.

 **Kuiki's Residence: The arena**

The echoes of the ecstatic villagers rang out through the arenas dimly lit halls. Several torches lined the barrier surrounding the sand covered battleground, giving the atmosphere an unnerving feeling. Sitting atop his throne with a bird's eye view of the spectacle, Chief Kuiki stared grimly at the Donphan inside the arena, as it began sniffing the air. Inside an area of the arena separated from the Donphan by a wooden gate, Ava tried her best to comfort her terrified friend.

"There, there. I'm sure Richard would come any moment now and rescue us from this accursed place." Ava whispered into her friend's ear, as Scarlett started shivering in fear.

"Y-Y-you think so?" Scarlett stuttered.

"Of course I'm sure! And even if he doesn't make it in time, I'm invincible. I can easily handle that Donphan." Ava reassured. It was then that Chief Kuiki got up off his throne and glared at the two young women.

"By the order of your supreme Chief, I deem you two to be witches!" he boomed at them, with several villagers chanting "Witch!" out loud.

"Witches?! What are you, 500 years old?" Ava snapped back at Kuiki. "You fucking prune."

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT THE GREAT CHIEF KUIKI!" He roared at Ava, causing her to flinch. "I shall make you to face justice for your crimes! And what better way to face justice than in this very ring?"

"P-P-Please don't do this to us. We haven't done anything wrong!" Scarlett attempted to get Kuiki to see reason, the young woman beyond frightened out of her mind.

"Scarlett…it's no use. This guy's batshit crazy." Ava told her friend, before she turned to look up at the chief. "Hey, Chief Prune, are you at least going to tell us the rules?"

"Very well. We'll open your cell, then let you fight it out with the Donphan." Kuiki explained.

"Alright, I can accept that, so long as you GIVE ME MY GODDAMN POKEMON FIRST!" Ava replied, raising her voice at the end. Kuiki smirked back, dangling a small leather pouch that contained Ava's Pokéballs.

"You two must serve justice alone, therefore you won't be using your Pokémon…" he told her, as Ava huffed in frustration.

"Oh, I see how it is. You want us to fight the Donphan ourselves, without Pokémon." she began, before an angry look grew on her face. "THAT'S REALLY GODDAMN FAIR!"

"Oh no…I don't want to die…" Scarlett began sobbing, as she sat on the soft sand and curled up into a ball. "I just want to go home…"

"Tough luck, life isn't fair. This is true justice." Kuiki replied coldly to her.

"Again with this justice crap, justice for what?!" Ava demanded, as she comforted her distressed friend.

"It's true, we haven't done anything…" Scarlett managed to get out, as she wiped a few tears from her eyes.

"I'm done speaking to you two witches, face justice with honour!" Kuiki scoffed at the duo, before turning to the audience. "Fellow villagers! Let the gladiatorial battle beg—"

"Over my dead body!" Richard declared, as he and Connor stormed into the arena and locked eyes with Kuiki, Scarlett and Ava turned to the source and spotted Richard confronting the chief.

"What the…Who are you, how did you get here?!" Kuiki demanded.

"Richard! You came for us!" Ava smiled.

"I knew you'd never leave us behind…" Scarlett smiled as well.

"I'd never turn my back on my special friends…" the young man replied, as he briefly turned to the crowd of surprised villagers. Hidden somewhere in the front row was…Shiv? What was he doing here?

"It's over Kuiki! I uncovered the truth behind your little utopia." Connor announced, pointing his finger at the chief.

"Wh-Wh-What truth?" Kuiki asked, as if he demanded an answer. Beads of sweat began pouring down his forehead. Connor smirked and began leaning against the railing keeping him and Richard safe from the Donphan.

"This charade of yours has been uncovered, and I know what you've been doing this whole time—"Connor began.

"What are you doing, interrupting an execution to spew rubbish about how I'm a fraud?!" Kuiki snarled, clenching his fist tightly.

"…As I was saying, I learnt from a villager that you have a brown and yellow Pokémon, while another one mentioned how you used to train Psychic type Pokémon. Then there's the fact that the villagers here act like they've been hypnotised." Connor continued.

"Where are you going with this?!" Kuiki demanded.

"Based on the knowledge I gained, there's only one Pokémon that covers all of the stated facts." Connor said, before he did a dramatic pose and pointed at Kuiki. "Kuiki! Why don't you show us all your Drowzee? The one you've been using to hypnotise everyone to spread your propaganda around the place, proclaiming that you're a hero." It was at this point that Kuiki screamed out loud in fear, as the villagers started to break out of their hypnotic dazes.

"You…" Kuiki growled.

"That's right everyone! Kuiki's been lying to you. He captured my friends and planned to execute them, to satisfy his sick desire for blood!" Richard called out. It was then that the liberated villagers began whispering amongst themselves.

"SILENCE!" Kuiki roared out loud. "Do you think I'd lie and deceive you all, after rescuing you from certain doom? I am your god! Without me you would have all perished."

"Funny thing, I also discovered the truth behind that. You used the Vileplume to block off the road to town, so that people would have no choice but to walk into your little "haven". And right into your little game." Connor continued.

"Hey yeah, I do remember the road being blocked off by a Vileplume…" Ava commented.

"That was how we ended up in the village." Scarlett added.

"LIES, ALL OF THIS IS LIES!" Kuiki screeched. "WOULD YOU ALL BELIEVE THESE LIES?!"

"Face it Kuiki, it's over! Release my friends or suffer the consequences…" Richard warned the older man.

"Oh man, Kuiki…" Shiv began, getting up off his seat. "Sounds like the truth has been discovered~"

"Wait, he's here?!" Connor exclaimed, turning to the side and spotted him in the crowd.

"Yeah, I noticed him when we got here." Richard admitted.

"You promised me that you wouldn't do this Shiv! You promised!" Kuiki panicked, hurt by Shiv's supposed betrayal.

"I had my fun while it lasted, but the two young gentlemen over here got the better of you." Shiv coolly replied, glancing at Richard and Connor. The villagers began shouting angrily at Kuiki, calling him names such as "Fraud!" and "Liar!" Kuiki's gazed worriedly around the arena, as the audience hurled abuse at him, before locking eyes with the duo who ruined his carefully crafted scheme. A sinister grin appeared on his face, as he retrieved a Pokéball and opened it, with a rather menacing Drowzee materialising from it.

"You think you bested me, by revealing that I hypnotised everyone to do my bidding…" Kuiki spoke dangerously to Connor and Richard. "Well you're not the first to break my control over them. Drowzee, use Hypnosis!" The Drowzee began waggling it's fingers at the mob of angry villagers, as they quietened down and were back into their hypnotised state, as if Connor hadn't of spoken up at all. Somehow Shiv managed to protect himself from Drowzee's hypnotic powers.

"Praise Chief Kuiki…" The villagers chanted.

"No! And we were so close as well…" Richard cried out in frustration.

"This is bullshit!" Connor scoffed, crossing his arms.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kuiki laughed maniacally. "Now the villagers are mine again! Now open the gate, I want to see justice served to the witches." The wooden gate gradually opened as the Donphan turned to stare at its next victims.

"This is it, isn't it…?" Scarlett winced, as she huddled up to Ava in fear.

"It seems to be that way…" Ava sighed in defeat, hoping that her death was at least quick. Richard was not going to let his friends die. Even if he had to give up his life, he'll do anything to ensure his friends survival. Climbing onto the rail, he proceeded to leap on the Donphan, before hopping up to Kuiki's balcony and proceeded to climb it.

"What are you doing Richard?!" Ava called out.

"I'm going to take out Kuiki's Drowzee and end this entire farce!" Richard declared.

"But you don't have a Pokémon!" she reminded him.

"I managed to pick up a couple of friends before I got here." The young man smiled. "I can do this."

"Please be safe Richard. I don't want to lose you." Scarlett wished him well.

"Don't worry, I'll make it out alive." He reassured her. "Connor, do you think you can handle the Donphan?"

"Normally I don't take orders from a scrub, but after seeing the crazy shit you just pulled, I'll make an exception." Connor replied, as he hopped into the arena and reached for a Pokéball. "Alright Donphan, you're mine!"

"You…there's something about you that's different. You have a look in your eyes, a look that indicates that there's more to you than meets the eye." Kuiki began. "But me? The people see me as what I truly am, a god."

"I wonder how they'll see you once I wipe the floor with you." Richard declared. "I shall make you pay for attempting to kill my friends!"

"You can do it Richard, put this tyrant in his place!" Scarlett and Ava cheered for Richard.

"Fine! I'll put you down for good!" Kuiki declared, as he reached for a second Pokéball. "Duskull, I choose you!" the older man sent forth his Pokémon, with the Requiem Pokémon chuckling ominously to itself.

"In that case, I choose you, Electrike!" Richard called out, as he threw a Pokéball and sent out his Electrike. The Lightning Pokémon stretched it's back before locking eyes with it's opponent. "Let's start thing off with a Spark!"

The Lightning Pokémon cloaked itself in electricity and began barrelling directly towards the enemy Duskull, who stood it's ground. The Electrike collided with the Duskull, causing the Requiem Pokémon to moan in pain.

"How predictable. Use Disable, Duskull!" Kuiki ordered. Duskull's eye began glowing as a shadowy aura surrounded Electrike, preventing it from using Spark. "Now what are you going to do?" Kuiki jeered at Richard.

"I've got plenty of tricks up my sleeves, Electrike use Odor Sleuth!" the young man retorted. The Lightning Pokémon sniffed the air in front of the Duskull and picked up it's scent, nullifying the Requiem Pokémon's immunity to Normal and Fighting type moves.

"And you demonise me for using trickery, you hypocrite…" Kuiki seethed.

"There's a difference between me and you, Kuiki. I don't use my tricks to manipulate innocent people to do my bidding." Richard commented smugly, setting off one of Kuiki's nerves.

"I'll make you pay for your insolence, Duskull use Shadow Sneak!" the chief snapped. The Duskull waved it's small arms up and down in the air, as it's shadow sunk into the ground and began making it's way towards Electrike at rapid speeds. The Electrike was soon struck from behind by the shadow and was pushed down into the ground.

"Ah! Are you alright?" Richard called out, with the Lightning Pokémon barking in confirmation as it got up off the ground. "That's good to here. Now why don't we go for a Tackle?" The Electrike nodded as it began barrelling towards the Duskull and tackled it, causing the Requiem Pokémon to moan in pain as it was sent flying toward the wall. When the dust settled, it showed that Duskull was knocked out.

"Tch, not bad…" Kuiki grumbled, recalling his Duskull. "But now it's time for you to fall to my Beedrill!" the chief sent out his Poison Bee Pokémon, who began to flit and buzz in the air. "Now Beedrill, use Twineedle!" The Beedrill dove down towards Electrike at an extremely quick speed, and proceeded to jab the Lightning Pokémon with it's massive needles, causing the small Pokémon to cry out in pain as it was flung back a few feet. The brutal attack had knocked out the young Pokémon, causing Richard to recall it.

"You did well in your first battle…" he praised his comrade and reached for another Pokéball. "Now it's time for Growlithe to make a second appearance!" The young man sent out the Puppy Pokémon for the second time today. The Growlithe barked playfully, eager to defeat it's opponent, if a little tired from the battle with Shiv.

"And what's that mangy mutt going to do against my Beedrill?" Kuiki scoffed.

"My Growlithe is going to put your Beedrill in a world of pain; makes me feel bad for the little critter." Richard replied boldly. "Now Growlithe, use Ember!" The Puppy Pokémon fired a small barrage of tiny fireballs from it's mouth at the Beedrill, causing the Poison Bee Pokémon to screech in pain as it's body was pelted by the fireballs.

"Grrr, use Poison Sting, Beedrill!" Kuiki growled. The Poison Bee Pokémon darted towards Growlithe and thrusted it's large stinger into the pup's body, causing the Growlithe to howl in pain. A purple hue then appeared on Growlithe's cheeks; a tell-tale sign of Pokémon poisoning.

' _This is not looking good…I have to finish this battle quickly.'_ Richard thought to himself, as an idea popped into his mind. "Growlithe, if you combine your Ember with your Bite, then you should be able to use Fire Fang. Do you think you can pull it off?" The Puppy Pokémon nodded and began charging up an Ember attack, while proceeding to coat it's teeth in the fire. Once it had done so successfully, it began running towards the Beedrill and bit into it's abdomen, causing the Poison Bee Pokémon to shriek once more in pain. The Growlithe shook the Beedrill for a bit before flinging it into Kuiki's throne, causing it to shatter into lots of little pieces. When the dust settled, it showed that Beedrill was knocked out.

"Alright Growlithe! That was an amazing attack, I couldn't have done it without you!" Richard cheered, with the Growlithe barking weakly, exhausted from the battle. "I think you've had enough for today…" the young man recalled his Pokémon.

Chief Kuiki couldn't believe his eyes, the insolent trainer right in front of him had defeated two of his Pokémon. He turned to the side and gasped in horror as he saw Connor defeat his Donphan with ease. Was this the end of his utopia, where he was god? No, he still had his ace.

"So what's it going to be Kuiki? Are you going to throw in the towel, or will you fight to the bitter end?" Richard asked, as he grabbed another Pokéball from his belt.

"You! I'll make you pay with your blood! Drowzee, crush this puny trainer!" Kuiki ordered. The Drowzee waddled towards the side of it's master and cracked it's knuckles, a sinister look on it's face that promised a lot of pain.

"Alright then, if you're gonna use Drowzee, then I'll use Sandile!" Richard called out, as he threw his Pokéball and sent out his Sandile. The Desert Croc Pokémon blinked it's eyes and gazed at the Drowzee curiously.

"I'll hypnotise your Pokémon and make it attack you, Drowzee use Hypnosis!" Kuiki ordered. The Drowzee began wiggling it's fingers up and down in an attempt to hypnotise Sandile to do it's bidding, however Richard would have none of that.

"Not today! Sandile, use Sand Attack to break Drowzee's concentration!" the young man requested. The Desert Croc shook it's head and coughed up some sand, before turning around and started kicking it back at its opponent. The Drowzee winced as its face was covered in sand and began wiping it away.

"Drowzee, use Pound to send that pest flying!" Kuiki barked. The Drowzee barrelled towards Sandile and attempted to pummel it with it's fists. However due to the sand in it's eyes, it ended up missing its attack.

"Perfect. Sandile, use Bite on Drowzee and finish this battle once and for all!" Richard declared. The Desert Croc Pokémon sneered and bit down hard on Drowzee's snout, causing the Hypnosis Pokémon to cry out in pain as it attempted to shake it's enemy off. However the Drowzee stumbled on some rubble from the shattered throne and tripped over, giving Sandile the chance to hoist up Drowzee into the air and fling it towards Kuiki. The tyrannical chief couldn't even scream before he was struck in the head by his Drowzee and pushed into the ruins of his throne. The powerful combo effortlessly knocked out the Drowzee, which came as a surprise to Richard. He knew that the Sandile line were quite powerful, but he didn't anticipate Sandile to be this strong at the beginning.

"We did it Sandile! We defeated Kuiki for good!" the young man celebrated with his Pokémon, as the defeated chief recalled his Pokémon and got up from the ruins of his throne.

"This…this can't be possible…how could I have lost?" Kuiki questioned himself.

"That's because you fought with wicked intentions; to keep these innocent people enslaved. I won because my motives were pure at heart, which is more than I can say for you." Richard began.

"That and you were one of the biggest scrubs of all time." Connor added, staring at chief Kuiki. "Not that it makes Richard amazing or anything…"

"Talk about a pulse-pounding battle!" Shiv called out loud, getting up off his seat. "I knew there's something special about you Richard."

"Uh, thanks Shiv." The young man replied sheepishly, as Shiv then locked eyes with Kuiki.

"As for you, I think it's time for you to go~" the older man replied ominously, as he vanished and appeared right next to Kuiki.

"Huh…What?! No!" Kuiki panicked, as he and Shiv proceeded to vanish once more. Everyone in the room was surprised and astonished at what they just witnessed. Richard proceeded to hop down from Kuiki's balcony and onto the soft sandy floor of the arena.

"Ava, Scarlett, are you two—"the young man began, before Scarlett ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Richard! I'd knew you'd save us!" she smiled, nuzzling into his shoulder. "You were so brave back then."

"Uhhh…thanks Scarlett." Richard replied, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"That was some crazy shit you pulled back there. Normally I'd chastise you for acting so foolishly, but since you saved our hide, I'll let it slide this time." Ava smiled. "Thanks Richard."

"You're welcome Ava. But I couldn't have done it alone. Were it not for Connor, I doubt I would have even made it here." Richard replied.

"Ehh, it's no biggie." Connor shrugged his shoulders. "Of course I had to help out Mr. Scrub over here for a good part of the trek."

"Which reminds me…what happened to Lyra's husband?" Richard inquired.

"Oh you mean Noel? He was sentenced to be executed right after us." Ava answered. "But now that Kuiki's gone, the villagers have gone to pardon him and everyone else who has been sentenced to die in the arena."

"Well that's good and all, but what's with that Shiv character?" Connor asked out loud. "That guy's hiding something."

"Yeah, I'd like to know how he can vanish and reappear in an instant." Scarlett inquired, as she let go of Richard. "Say Richard, do you have any idea who he is?"

"If I had the answer to that question, I'd tell you, but I don't." Richard replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well whatever the case, I just want to get out of here." Ava commented, with the group of four exiting the arena. Upon exiting the arena, they were confronted by a fairly tall man with long brown hair.

"And just who are you exactly, Kuiki's replacement?" Connor questioned the tall man.

"I'm Noel, thanks for freeing my village from Kuiki's reign of terror." He introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Noel. Your wife was worried sick about you." Richard greeted back.

"Indeed, which is why I'm going to spend the rest of the day with her." Noel mused. "But before I got, I have something for you all." He then proceeded to hand what appeared to be a wooden bowl containing a bright green powder.

"This is Spice Powder; perfect for getting a sleeping Vileplume to move out of the way." Noel explained, before turning around and began walking back to the guard post, where Lyra was waiting for him.

"Well now that we have the Spice Powder, let's get out of here and straight into town. We all need a rest after all we've been through." Scarlett suggested, as the group of four proceeded to make their way out of the cave.

 **Quite a long chapter, but no problem. The next chapter will have the group explore Redcliff Town, and will also feature a Gym Battle between Richard and Connor.**


End file.
